The Ferrari 360 is a mid-ingine midsize twa-seater sports caur produced frae late 1999 till 2005. The 360 replaced the Ferrari F355 an wis itself replaced bi the fairly similar Ferrari F430. For the 360, Ferrari partnered with Alcoa to produce an entirely new all-aluminum space-frame chassis that wis 40% stiffer than the F355, yet 28% lighter despite a 10% increase in overall dimensions. Along with the new frame wis a new Pininfarina body styling that broke ranks with the last decade's sharp angles an flip-up headlights, replacing them with a roondit appearance that harkened to the 1960s. The new V8 engine, common to all versions, was only slightly lairger an more pouerful than the F355's at 3.6 litres an 400 bhp (300 kW) o pouer, but the lighter frame an added stiffness improved performance; the 0 to 60 (0 to 100 km) acceleration performance improved frae 4.6 to 4.4 seconds. An engine replacement resulted in the V8 road model that followed, the F430 (internally referred to as the evoluzione or evo) which came oot in 2004.

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The first model o the 360 to ship wis the 360 Modena, named efter the toun o Modena, the birthplace o Enzo Ferrari. Its sax-speed gearbox is available as a manual, or F1 electrohydraulic manual. The caur went into production in 1999 an remained in production until 2005 when it wis replaced bi the F430. The Modena wis followed bi the 360 Spider, Ferrari's 20t road-going convertible. Ither than weight, the Spider's specifications match those o the Modena almost exactly. The Challenge Stradale (or CS) wis a later addition to the road line. It wis essentially a lightened version o the Modena, droppin 110 kilograms an drastically improvin its handlin through optimizions such as uprated titanium springs (lowering unsprung weight), stiffer bushes (frae 360 Challenge caurs) an uprated rear anti roll bar (the same anti-roll bar as uised on 430 Scuderia). Changes included lairger 19" BBS wheels, the uise o carbon fiber for the frames o the seats an mirrors, titanium springs which wur also 20% stiffer, an Carbon fibre-reinforced Silicon Carbide (C/SiC) ceramic composite brake disks. A variety o option allowed for further weight reductions, including replacing the leather interior with fabric, removal o the pouer windows an mirrors, an deletion o the stereo. Lexan side windows wur available in Europe anerlie. It wis offeecially introduced in Mairch 2003 at the Geneva International Motor Show an went into production shortly thereafter. The CS can be compared to Porsche's GT3 RS model in design approach an mony magazines hae placed them head to head in road tests. Jeremy Clarkson compared the twa an chose the CS to be his favourite.

The engineers worked hard frae the start o the 360 project to lay the foundation for a Spider with exceptional torsional an flexional rigidity. They haed to strengthen the sills, stiffen the front o the floorpan an redesign the windscreen frame. The rear bulkhead haed to be stiffened to cut oot engine noise frae the cabin. The convertible's necessary dynamic rigidity is provided bi additional side reinforcements an a cross brace in front o the engine. Passenger safety is ensured bi a strengthened windscreen frame an roll bars.

The 360 Spider displays a curvilinear waistline. The fairings imply the start o a roof, an stable roll bars ar embedded in these elevations. Due to use o licht aluminium constructions throughoot, the Spider weighs in with anerlie 60 kg (130 lb) more than the coupé.

With its hood up, the Ferrari 360 Spider looks extremely aggressive. Lowering the hood totally transforms the look. Seen frae the side, the 360 Spider resembles a sports racer, a sensation underlined bi the length o the rear engine bay, the twin roll bars, the rear fairings an the steep windscreen.

As with the Modena version, its 3.6 litre V8 with 400 bhp is on display under a glass hood. The engine - confined in space bi the convertible's top's storage area - acquires additional air supply through especially lairge side grills. The intake manifolds, with the classical Ferrari covers, cuddle up to each ither between the air supply conduits in the Spider engine compartment, as opposed to lying apart as with the Mondena.

Despite the caur's mid-mounted V8 engine Ferrari's engineers foond a way o creatin a hood that automatically folds away inside the engine bay, thus ensuring purity o line. The top canopy o crease free material comes in black, blue, grey an beige. The transformation frae a closed top to an open-air convertible is a twa-stage foldin-action that haes been dubbed "a stunning 20 second mechanical symphony". After a short to an fro, the entire top disappears into a closed storage area between the seating an the engine.

The interior o the Spider is identical to the coupé.

The spider also haed the option o a performance exhaust system frae Tubi Style. The exhaust made the caur soond louder an providit a modest increase in peak horsepouer.

The Challenge Stradale is a limited production more track day focused caur than the Modena, it wis inspired bi the challenge racin series an can be thought o as a Challenge caur for the road. Ferrari engineers designed the caur frae the outset with 20% track day uise in mind an 80% road use. With anerlie a small 20 hp improvement in engine pouer frae the Modena but with substantially improved pouer to weight ratio, the Challenge Stradale accelerates frae 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in juist 4.1 seconds.

In total, the CS is up to 110 kg (243 lb) lichter than the standard Modena if all the lichtweight options ar specified such as deleted radio, lexan side windows an fabric cloth (instead o the leather option). As much as 94 kilograms (207 lb) wis taken off on the bodywork bi strippin the interior carpets, lichter weight bumpers, carbon mirrors an the optional Modena carbon seats becomin standard. The engine an transmission weight wis slimmed doun 11 kg (24 lb) through the uise o a smaller, lichter weight sports (yet still stainless steel) exhaust back box an valved exit pipes.

There ar a lot o subtle (an some not so subtle) stylin differences between the Challenge Stradale an the standard Modena.